First Lab Demonstration of a Newly Developed Reliable Multicast Scheme

The Institute of Communications and Navigations was able to demonstrate for the first time its newly developed reliable multicast scheme in a lab-system. This newly developed reliable multicast scheme, which is based on network coding with Fountain Codes, has been implemented in a PC-based lab system emulating a transmitting satellite and several receive terminals with individual, uncorrelated satellite channels. The scheme supports a very efficient, robust, and reliable distribution of data files to groups of satellite terminals even if the satellite channel conditions are very bad. Especially the distribution of data files to mobile terminals, whose line-of-sight is temporarily obstructed by obstacles like buildings or trees, can be much faster with this new reliable multicast scheme than with traditional selective repeat ARQ multicast schemes. The new reliable multicast scheme has been developed in the project NEXT - Network Coding Satellite Experiment, which is funded by the German Space Agency, and is currently going to be implemented in DSP/FPGA based modems for demonstrations in a satcom-simulation system with a real RF transmission.